💳 Top Cards Update: November Edition

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 13 seconds

Gooooood morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the black coffee of all travel newsletters. We’re not bland — we’re just exactly as we should be — classic, comforting, and original.

Here’s what’s on the docket for today:

• 💳 Top Cards Update (and it’s a big one)

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A quick family travel hack from Marriott

• ✈️ This is how airlines should board planes

💳 Top Cards Update (and it’s a big one)

It’s the beginning of the month. And now that the scary season is over and we’re looking ahead to Thanksgiving, let me tell you what I’M thankful for:

Tasty, dank, heavenly, heaps of points thanks to some recent credit card offers that have been offered to us on a silver platter.

So here’s the headline this month:

There are so many badass new offers on the table that we’ve dropped our reigning champ (the Capital One Venture X Card) to slot number FOUR on the list.

It’s a truly devastating moment for the previous champ. But here are the cards that have stolen the top three:

🥉 Card Number 3

The [[ chase-freedom-unlimited-credit-card.name ]] has slid under the radar, but it’s time that it took the spotlight. On the surface, this card might not look like anything special…

After all, it’s a no-fee, cash-back card… right?

I wouldn’t be so sure… but rather than break down the craziness of this card here, I’ll let Brendan explain it to you like a pro in our recent YouTube video: 👇

But number three is pathetic compared to the current number two…

🥈 Card Number 2

I already told you about the [[ southwest-rapid-rewards-plus-credit-card.name ]] in my newsletter last week. As a standalone card, it’s okay.

But the welcome offer?? It’s just bananas. You can earn 75,000 Southwest points from a card that costs less than $70 per year…

And as you can see, it’s not uncommon to find various Southwest flights for as little as two or three thousand points…

So I’ll let you do the math there.

For the welcome offer alone, the [[ southwest-rapid-rewards-plus-credit-card.casual-card-name ]] is hard to beat. So I highly recommend you pick it up if you live in the US and want to get a ton of free flying.

But which card was lucky enough to steal the number one slot?

🥇 Card Number 1

I never thought I’d see the day that a Hilton credit card stole the number one slot from the freaking Venture X card… but it is indeed a crazy world we live in.

In case you didn’t get the memo, the Hilton credit card family was recently revamped in a major way.

The cards have new perks, fees, credits, and, of course, a scrumptious new welcome offer.

Specifically, we think that the [[ hilton-honors-american-express-surpass-card.name ]] will surpass all of your expectations… 😉

In our podcast episode last week (which is a thing, FYI), Megan and I broke down ALL of the details of these new cards, so check it out if you want to do a deep dive into this topic and see if the card might be right for you.

Overall, it’s so great to see major movement in the credit card world. It’s not often we see record-high welcome offers on cards, let alone THREE majorly solid deals all at once.

So if you’re looking for the next card to add to your wallet, look no further than our Top Cards Page. 🤗

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A quick family travel hack from Marriott

We know many of you are thirsty for some more family travel-hacking tips, and Marriott is doing just that 👇

Right now, they’re offering 50% off a second room if you’re traveling as a family and have your kids (16 and under) occupy that second room.

Obviously, if you have really young kids, this might not be ideal. But I also don’t know how strict Marriott is with having one parent and one kid occupy the room (versus only kids).

But if you’ve got some tweens or teens that can manage their own room perfectly fine, then I think this is a great promo for families! 

Here are more of the details:

• You must book your room between now and January 1, 2024 (and complete your stay by January 2nd)

• Available for participating hotels in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

• Make sure you use promo code ZJ5 when making an online booking

• Your discount will be applied upon arrival

Here’s an example of a hotel in Spain offering this deal. You’ll see the promotion listed to know the hotel you’re booking is eligible.

And remember, you’ll book both rooms at the normal rate, but it will be adjusted to give you that 50% discount once you arrive (so they can confirm you are actually a family traveling with kids 😉).

🌎 Sponsored by Indus Travel

Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or newbie embarking on their first international trip ever… sometimes, it’s nice to have someone else do all the planning.

And that’s why we’re stoked to feature Indus Travels today! They’re an online tour operator who’s got some mad skillz in planning the most cost-effective, flexible, and totally customizable adventures to over 80 destinations!

So not only will you be getting a well-researched trip, you’ll also be matched up with an itinerary that could save you up to 25% compared to if you had done all the hard work yourself 🤯

Indus offers a handful of travel tour styles:

• Small and ultra-small group tours

• Independent/solo tours

• Self-drive tours

• River cruises in Europe

And today, we’re highlighting one of their most popular self-drive tours: The Best of Ireland 👇

This particular itinerary is a self-drive adventure that takes you across the Emerald Isle—from exploring the heart of Dublin to seeing some of the most dramatic scenery and iconic castles.

Ireland… she’s a stunner, folks 😎

Book before November 15 and get $400/person off.

Price includes 7 nights superior hotel accommodation, daily breakfast, 8 days car rental with insurance, and international flights (from any U.S. and Canada airport), which is super convenient! 

They’ve worked hard to establish relationships within the travel industry that allow them to negotiate the best price for accommodations, activities, and more!

View all the details and other options for this lovely itinerary to Ireland (or another destination of your liking!) on their website 👇

✈️ This is how airlines should board planes

That’s all for today, my friends.

I’m having a hard time deciding which of these new cards to apply for… They all fit into my travel habits so nicely that I might just have to pick up all three… 😋

Take care, have a great day, and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow ❤️

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